Before Alex Eala, two forgotten Filipino tennis heroes conquered the global stage

The two tennis heroes also shared the greatest rivalry in Philippine tennis history.

Most Filipinos know Alex Eala as the face of Philippine tennis.

But here’s a piece of sports trivia many have forgotten: decades before Eala was born, the Philippines already had two tennis stars who regularly battled the world’s best on the biggest courts.

Their names were Felicisimo Ampon and Raymundo Deyro—a golden tandem that helped make the Philippines one of Asia’s tennis powers during the 1940s and 1950s.

At a time when international travel was far more difficult than today, the two Filipinos journeyed across Europe and North America to compete in Grand Slam tournaments against some of the sport’s greatest legends.

Ampon, nicknamed the “Mighty Mite,” became an international sensation because of his remarkable size. Standing just around five feet tall and weighing barely 115 pounds, he routinely defeated much larger opponents using speed, precision, and relentless court coverage.

His résumé remains one of the finest ever assembled by a Filipino tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in both 1952 and 1953, advanced to the fourth round of the US Championships four times, won the prestigious Wimbledon Plate in 1948, and captured the 1950 Pan American Tennis Championship after defeating American star Bill Talbert.

Over nearly three decades, Ampon also became the Philippines’ greatest Davis Cup player, finishing with a national record 40 overall victories.

Deyro, meanwhile, was every bit as accomplished. The steady baseliner reached the fourth round of the French Open in 1953 and the third rounds of both Wimbledon and the US Championships. He represented the Philippines in a record 37 Davis Cup ties and remained a mainstay of the national team until he was 43 years old.

Ampon and Deyro shared the greatest rivalry in Philippine tennis history. Their frequent career battles included Ampon winning the 1951 Swedish Hard Court Championship and Deyro taking the 1953 Oslo International title.

But the pair produced one of Philippine sports’ greatest moments at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo.

Deyro defeated Ampon in an all-Filipino men’s singles final to win the gold medal, guaranteeing the Philippines both gold and silver. They then reunited in doubles to capture another gold, completing one of the country’s most dominant performances in Asian tennis history.

Together, they even defeated Japanese stars Kosei Kamo and Atsushi Miyagi in Davis Cup competition—the same duo that would later become US National Championships doubles champions.

Despite these remarkable achievements, both men gradually faded from public memory as Philippine tennis declined during the professional Open Era. As tennis became increasingly expensive and globalized after 1968, the country struggled to produce players capable of consistently competing at the highest level.

Today, Alex Eala is deservedly inspiring a new generation of Filipino tennis fans.

But perhaps her greatest contribution is reminding the nation that she isn’t writing the first chapter of Philippine tennis history.

She’s writing its long-awaited sequel—a story first begun by two forgotten Filipino heroes who proved, decades ago, that the Philippines belonged on the world’s biggest tennis stage.

READ: